Jeff Parks has already made his mark on the Louisiana Tech Bulldog golf program in the few short years at the helm after serving five years as an assistant coach prior to his promotion in the summer of 2009.

Although the ultimate goal of winning a conference championship and competing in the NCAAs has not yet been reached, Parks and Co. have taken strides in that direction during his first two years at the helm.

Last year's season saw the Bulldogs grow as a team towards that goal with the potential to reach it this year. The growth of the program has continued through the collegiate years with Sam Forgan now playing professionally overseas.

The 2012-13 season saw the Bulldogs capture two team titles - the Squire Creek Invitational in October and the Jim West Intercollegiate in April - marking the first time since 2004-05 a LA Tech team had accomplished the feat.

Tech also recorded its top finish ever in the Western Athletic Conference Championships as the Bulldogs finished fourth in the nine-team field, surpassing its previous best of fifth place on two previous occasions.

After opening the fall season with a pair of top five finishes, Parks and Co. also earned its highest ranking ever moving up as high as 59th in Golfstat.com. This ranking shattered the previous high of 98th achieved twice during the previous 20 years.

"I don't look at (these achievements) as success yet," Parks said. "It's an outcome. I'm excited about it, but to me if we keep doing what we are doing, preparing, and getting better, I think we will continue to improve.

"I attribute a lot of (our success) to physical conditioning, the hard work the guys have put in off the course. I attribute a lot of it to improvement on the mental side, the confidence level we've reached by implementing some mental strategies. Bottom line is our guys have a lot of pride in their school and they want to represent the school just like any other team. It takes a mental toughness and fortitude to be successful."

Along the way, Jack Lempke became the first Bulldog to ever earn the WAC Freshman of the Year honor - an impressive feat for Parks first signee since taking over the program. Clinton Shepard also picked up some hardware, earning second team all-conference accolades following an impressive season that saw him record six top 20 finishes.

These accomplishments came just one year after Parks inaugural year on the job, a 2009-10 season that saw the Bulldogs open some eyes.

After defeating seven top 100 ranked teams at the BancorpSouth Intercollegiate hosted by Ole Miss in early April, the Louisiana Tech golf team moved up into the top 100 in the Golfstat.com rankings.

In 11 tournaments during the fall and spring, the Bulldogs recorded a mark of 78-76-3, including 23 wins over teams ranked in the Top 100 in the country. In the spring-only events, Tech was 49-34-1. Most of Tech's damage against the Top 100 teams came towards the end of the year as the Bulldogs bested 15 ranked teams in its last four tournaments.

Finding just the right lineup was a challenge for Parks as he saw seven of the 10 players on his roster record at least one Top 12 finish each this year.

Parks and Co.'s most impressive performance might have come when they placed in a tie for fifth at the BancorpSouth Intercollegiate hosted by Ole Miss at Reunion Golf and Country Club.

In that event, all five of the Bulldogs placed in the Top 40 out of 75 golfers as Tech defeated a total of seven Top 100 ranked teams, including knocking off Southeastern for the first time this year while also besting 51st ranked UCF.

The Bald Knob, Ark. native was named one of the "Best Teachers in Louisiana" by Golf Digest. In 2001, he was recognized by the golf publication as one of the "Best Teachers in Colorado." His awards do not stop there though as Parks was named the PGA Gulf States Teacher of the Year in 2006.

A devotee to modern technology, Parks has earned certification through the Titleist Performance Institute. He is a level three certified golf professional and a level two biomechanics professional. He has tested over 100 touring professionals using special 3D technology.

During his lessons with the Bulldogs, Parks utilizes the AMM3D motion analysis system and V1 video to dissect a golfer's full swing. He uses TRACKMAN, a sonar radar, to measure a golfer's ball-flight characteristics and SAM Putting LAB to measure a golfer's putting motion.

Parks, who has been a Class A PGA Professional for over 15 years, was the vice president of golf instruction at GolfTEC in Denver for five years. At GolfTEC, he helped develop the company's own video, motion and impact analysis software.

Tech's first-year head coach played golf at Graceland College before graduating from the professional golf management program at Mississippi State in 1993.

After graduating from the school, he became the first assistant professional at Southern Trace Country Club in Shreveport, before moving on to Golf TEC in 1996.

Parks is a certified Titleist, Ping, Taylormade, Nike, Callaway, Mizuno, Cleaveland and Nakashima clubfitter. He has given over 8,000 golf lessons and has published numerous articles in GolfTips.

He is married to the former, Laurie Lawshe of Goodman, Mississippi, and the couple has a nine-year-old son Jack and a five-year-old daughter Emmie.